CHAPTER 3
TOURISM
PLANNING
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, you should be
able to:
1. Define planning
2. Explain the reasons for tourism planning
3. Discuss the consequences of inadequate
or poor planning process
4. Compare tourism in developed countries
with that of developing countries
5. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of
tourism planning
6. Explain the barriers to planning and
7. Analyze the tourism planning process
What is Planning?
Planning is a dynamic
process of determining goals,
systematically selecting
alternative courses of actions to
achieve those goals,
implementing the chosen
alternatives, and evaluating the
choice to determine if it is
successful.
Tourism planning
Tourism planning is the strategic
process of developing and managing
tourism in a way that balances
economic benefits, environmental
sustainability, and cultural
preservation. It involves analyzing
destinations, identifying potential
attractions, setting goals, and creating
policies to ensure that tourism
development is sustainable and
beneficial to local communities.
Reasons for Tourism Planning
Tourism planning is greatly
needed. The stagnation and
decline of a destination or
attraction may be due to the lack
of planning or poor planning.
Tourism planning is crucial to ensuring
that tourism development is
sustainable, profitable, and beneficial
to all stakeholders.
Here are some key reasons why
tourism planning is necessary:
1. Sustainable Development
• Prevents environmental degradation by managing
the use of natural resources.
• Promotes eco-friendly tourism practices.
• Ensures long-term benefits without harming future
generations.
2. Economic Growth and Stability
• Maximizes the economic benefits of tourism, such as
job creation and revenue generation.
• Helps diversify the local economy to reduce
dependence on a single industry.
• Ensures that tourism income is distributed fairly
among local businesses and communities.
3. Infrastructure and Facility Development
• Helps plan and improve transportation,
accommodations, and public services.
• Ensures that facilities meet the needs of
tourists and locals.
• Prevents overdevelopment that could damage
the character of a destination.
4. Cultural and Heritage Preservation
• Protects historical sites, traditions, and local
customs from being lost or commercialized.
• Encourages responsible tourism that respects
local cultures.
• Helps communities maintain their identity
while benefiting from tourism.
6. Community Involvement and Social Benefits
• Ensures local communities are involved in tourism decisions.
• Creates employment and business opportunities for
residents.
• Improves quality of life by funding public services and
infrastructure.
7. Risk Management and Safety
• Prepares for natural disasters, economic downturns, and
other crises.
• Implements security measures to protect tourists and
residents.
• Develops strategies to handle emergencies, such as health
outbreaks or political instability.
8. Improved Tourist Experience
• Ensures a high-quality experience for visitors by managing
crowds and attractions.
• Enhances hospitality standards and customer service.
• Promotes responsible tourism that benefits both tourists and
locals.
9. Competitive Advantage
• Helps destinations stay attractive and
competitive in the global tourism market.
• Identifies unique selling points to attract
specific types of tourists.
• Adapts to changing trends and traveler
preferences.
10. Government Regulation and Policy
Implementation
• Establishes rules and policies to manage
tourism effectively.
• Prevents illegal activities like overpricing,
exploitation, and environmental harm.
• Ensures alignment with national and
international tourism standards.
Consequences of Lack of Tourism Flaming or
Poor Tourism Planning
The following are the symptoms of inadequate or
poor tourism planning:
A. Physical Impacts
1. Damage or permanent alteration of the
physical environment;
2. Damage or permanent alteration of
historical/cultural landmarks and
resources;
3. Overcrowding and congestion;
4. Pollution; and
5. Traffic problems.
B. Human Impacts
1. Less accessibility to services and tourist
attractions for local residents resulting
in local resentment;
2. Dislike of tourists by local residents;
3. Loss of cultural identities;
4. Lack of education of tourism employees
in skills and hospitality; and
5. Lack of awareness of the benefits of
tourism to the destination area.
C. Marketing Impacts
1. Failure to capitalize on new marketing
opportunities;
2. Erosion of market shares due to the actions
of
competitive destination areas;
3. Lack of sufficient awareness in prime
markets;
4. Lack of a clear image of destination area in
potential markets;
5. Lack of cooperative advertising among
individual operators; and
6. Inadequate capitalization in packaging
opportunities.
D. Organizational Impacts
1. Fragmental approach to the marketing and
development of tourism, often involving
“competitive splinter groups”
2. Lack of cooperation among individual
operators
3. Inadequate representation of the tourism
industry’s interest
4. Lack of support from local public authorities
5. Failure to act on important issues, problems,
and opportunities of common interest to the
industry.
E. Other Impacts
1. Lack of sufficient attractions and
events;
2. Lack of sufficient attractions and
events
3. Poor or deteriorating quality of
facilities and services; and
4. Poor or inadequate travel
information services
Tourism Planning in Developed
Countries
In general, planning for tourists is
less difficult in developed countries than
it is in developing ones. Planning is
important and should provide a quality
environment for both tourists and
residents. The planning process for
tourism development is the same as in
city or regional planning. Most problems
involve policy decisions on alternative
land uses for the health and welfare of
the citizens in countries with less control
over the economic sector.
Tourism in Developing Countries
Tourism is important in bringing the
much-needed foreign currency to
developing countries. Mexico and Spain for
example have benefited very much from
tourism. For a number of countries such as
Malta, Morocco, Tunisia, and Cyprus,
tourism receipts contributed largely to the
national income. Other advantages are
increased employment opportunities and
the development of infrastructure. Roads,
water, and sewage systems provided for
tourists also help local industries.
Roles and Responsibilities for
Tourism Planning
In communist countries, all planning is
done by the national government. In
democratic countries, the government and
the private sector play a valid role in the
tourism planning. Experience shows that
the process of joint participation and close
cooperation of the private and government
sector produces the best results and that
plans are more likely to be successfully
implemented if the private sector is
actively involved in the planning process.
Barriers to Planning
The following are the barriers to tourism planning and the
problems associated with it:
1. Many people are against planning in principle,
particularly within
the free-enterprise system. Many businessmen view
tourism
planning as an encroachment into their domain and are
skeptical
of its real value;
2. It is expensive. Effective tourism planning must be
based upon
detailed resource analysis and market research;
3. The tourism industry is complex and diverse. A large
number of
government departments have activities that impinge on
tourism.
Unlike the automobile manufacturing business, the
tourism
industry cannot be readily identified.
The Tourism Planning Process
There are five essential steps in the tourism
planning process:
[Link] analysis phase;
2. Detailed research and analysis
phase;
3. Synthesis phase;
4. Goal-setting, strategy selection, and
objective-setting phase; and
5. Plan development phase.
1. Background Analysis
The first step in the tourism planning
process is a situational analysis that
provides the basic direction for the
succeeding steps. This is the logical
launching point for most tourism plans
since most destination areas, whether
they are countries, states, provinces,
regions, or local communities, have
some existing tourism activity and
regulatory/policy framework for the
industry.
Categorization of Tourism Resource Components
Component Subcomponent
Natural Features Landscapes
Scenery
Unique features
Flora and fauna
Buildings
Historical and Cultural Sites
Features Themes
Communities/sub-communities
Attractions
Tourist Operations and Accommodations
Facilities Food service
Events
Information centers
Component Subcomponent
Hospitality Services Reservation systems
Commercial stores and services
(banks, retail stores)
Transportation systems (road, rail,
airport)
Underground services
Population and workforce
Ethnic community
Human Resources Attitude toward tourism
Employment/unemployment
Industries
General Socioeconomic Economic conditions
Social problems
Land ownership
Present Land Uses Planning and zoning regulations
Future growth and development
The third step in the background analysis
is a description of existing tourism demand in
the destination area using readily available
secondary or published sources of information.
Modes of travel to and within the
destination area and past usage volumes
(aircraft, bus, train, ship, private automobile):
[Link] volumes and patterns by month or
season;
2. Geographical origins of tourists;
3. Geographical destinations of tourists;
4. Tourists demographics such as age, income,
education, occupation, and travel party
composition;
5. Trip purposes;
6. Activity participation;
7. Market segments (families with
children, singles, tour groups,
business
groups);
8. Lengths of stay in the area;
9. Tourist expenditure within the
area; and
10. Usage of facilities such as
accommodation, attractions,
events,
The final step in the
background analysis is a review
of the major strengths,
weaknesses, and problems and
issues within the destination
area's existing tourism industry.
It should be introspective,
critical, and objective.
2. Detailed Research and Analysis
A valid tourism plan cannot
be formulated without research.
Research should be concentrated
in four distinct areas, namely:
resources, markets, activities,
and competition.
STEPS OF TOURISM RESOURCE
COMPONENTS
1. Resource Analysis - involves the
preparation of maps identifying the
location of major resources.
2. Activity Analysis - Activities include all
the things the tourist can do while
visiting the destination area, ranging
from recreational pursuits like skiing, to
more passive pursuits such as shopping
and sightseeing.
Cont. no. 2
It is necessary to classify the activities
according to their range of appeal. It is also
important to identify the months of the year in
which these activities can be pursued. Because
many destination areas suffer from the
problem of seasonality, this part of the
analysis helps determine those activities that
will generate demand outside of peak periods.
A good tourism plan will include some 'original
research on the existing and potential markets
for the destination area. The original research
carries out one or more surveys of existing and
potential tourists. Surveys of existing tourists
are normally carried on while they are within
the destination area. Normally, the personal
interview technique is used either at exit/entry
Cont No. 2 A variety of survey techniques can
be utilized to research potential markets. These
include personal interviews, group sessions,
telephone interviews, and mail out and mail-
back questionnaires. They can be directed
toward the individual pleasure travellers in a
specific geographic market (household surveys)
or aimed at the channels of distribution (tour
wholesalers/operators and travel agents) and
other travel influences (convention planners,
club/affinity group executives, corporate travel
departments). This research helps determine the
attitude toward future travel to the destination
area, levels of awareness of the area's tourism
resource components, images of the area, the
major competitive destinations, and the steps
needed to attract potential visitors. It can also
provide an opportunity to "market test" new
3. Synthesis
The third step of the tourism planning
process is where major conclusions regarding
the previous work are formulated. It is one of
the most important and creative steps in the
process. A comprehensive tourism plan will
produce conclusions on five distinct subjects:
1. Tourism development;
2. Tourism marketing;
3. Tourism industry organization;
4. Tourism awareness; and
5. Other tourism support services and activities.
4. Goal Setting, Strategy
Selection,
and Objective Setting
The fourth step in the tourism
planning process is to define the
planning goals, strategies, and
objectives. They must be
complementary to policy goals and
objectives.
5. Plan Development
The last step of the tourism planning
process is the development of the plan. The
plan includes the actions needed to achieve
the objectives, implement the strategy, and
satisfy the planning goals. A comprehensive
plan deals with the development, marketing,
industry organization, awareness, and
support services.
It takes each of the plan objectives and
specifies the following:
1. The programs and actions required to
achieve each plan objective;
2. The roles and responsibilities of the
public and private sector in carrying out
3. The specific development and marketing
concepts and opportunities that will help
achieve certain objectives;
4. The funds required to carry out specific
programs and actions;
5. The sources of these funds;
6. The timetable for carrying out specific
programs and actions within the plan; and
7. The method for monitoring the success of
the
plan on a periodic basis during its term.
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